Heart of a Lion
by Stephibob
Summary: Cloud Strife. Silent, brooding. Trapped in another world due to the effects of the Time Compression. Rinoa Heartily. Outgoing and cheerful. Unsure about what she wants with her life. Both brought together by a chance event, and this is their story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one**

It was dark, quiet. The wind whispered though the desolate area, making the hem of his long, black coat flutter slightly. The tall, willowy blond sighed, and pressed his hand to the bridge of his nose. It had been a long night.

Pushing his long, golden hair back from his forehead, he slumped to the ground, his head resting in his arms.

_I really push myself to hard,_ he thought. _Then again, maybe not hard enough. Maybe if I'd pushed harder… she would still be here._

"Cloud! Are you there? We found something… it's like nothing I've ever seen before!"

Tifa's voice rang clear through the rocks, laving no doubt in his mind how anxious she was. He knew she worried, but he couldn't bring himself to admit his true feelings for her. He felt too guilty.

_I couldn't… not after what I let happen to Aeries…_

"Cloud? Hurry up will ya?"

" Yea, coming!"

With one final look at the surrounding area, he pushed himself off the ground and went back to join those who he had left several hours earlier. He liked solitude at times.

Heading back, he noticed something strange. There seemed to be a buzzing noise appearing within his skull, getting louder and higher with every step he took. It was then he noticed everybody else lying on the floor, their blood mingling.

"NO!" he screamed, "This can't be happening… not again! I can't handle this again! TIFA!"

He rushed to her side, stumbling over rocks and debris from their excavations. With a feeling of dread, he gently pressed his fingers to her throat, sighing in relief when he felt her pulse. With a look around, he noticed that of the other three, none had survived. The wounds were too deep; too much blood had been lost. Tifa was the only one. Thankfully, she seemed to have escaped the worst of the attack when she shouted to him. He started rummaging through his pockets.

"She can't die. I won't LET her. It's not happening again." Muttering to himself he eventually found what he was looking for, his last potion. "This had better be enough"

He tipped it into her mouth, allowing it to trickle slowly down her throat. She coughed slightly, and then sighed. He took this to be a good sign, and sighed with sheer relief. It hadn't happened again. He lay her down and stood up, looking around, going in search of whoever (or indeed whatever) had done this.

It was then he noticed the large hole in the wall of the cave, seemingly leading to nowhere. It was also at that moment that he realised in his relief he had overstepped, and tumbled headfirst into it.

He had time for one last thought before blackness overtook his mind

_Holy gods… what now?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Running across Balamb beach, the girl fell suddenly forwards, tripping over a rock. The tears streaming down her face had impaired her vision. She sat up, her raven black hair falling over her shoulders as she curled in on herself, head in arms, crying so hard that it hurt, and ignoring the blood that was welling up in the cut in her arm.

_Squall... my Squall... what happened? I thought you loved me? I thought... I didn't think you would hurt me again. After the last time... _

_"_Hey, you okay?" A deep, melodic voice called out to her.

Looking up, she saw the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He seemed ethereal, as if he didn't belong. He was tall, from her position on the ground he seemed like a giant. His arms were lean, but skinny, and the rest of him showed signs of muscle, although it wasn't too much. His eyes were blue, the colour of the ocean on a clear, sunny, and his hair was long, golden blond and messy. To her, he looked perfect. There were no faults.

"Do I look okay to you?" She winced, hearing how cold she sounded.

"Hey, sorry. I was just wondering, I have no idea where I am, and you are the first human I've managed to find around here... What's your name? I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife"

"I'm Rinoa Heartily... sorry I'm in such a mess... It's just..."

With these words, she broke into fresh tears, and even though he didn't know her, Cloud wrapped his arms around her, comforting her. She looked so much like his Tifa...

_No, not my Tifa. Tifa never was mine to begin with..._

"You okay now?" he asked, stepping back, beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable at his train of thoughts. She wasn't Tifa. For one, she was smaller, more petite and delicate. Nobody could ever call Tifa delicate. Her black hair framed her face, emphasising the snowy paleness of her skin, and her large chocolate brown eyes.

"I guess... It's just hard... I -"

"You don't have to talk about it... I don't mind. I just wanna know where I am."

"Well, this is Balamb, and that town 'bout five minutes away is Balamb town... I don't know much about it myself, I only moved here about a year ago... you'd be better to ask Squa... one of my friends."

"Balamb? I've never heard of that before... and I thought I'd been everywhere... What about Midgar? Where is that?"

"Midgar? That's like, gone. Has been for about one thousand years! Geez, that's where Esthar is now!"

The shock was apparent on Cloud's face, and he looked at Rinoa like she was mad.

"Please tell me you are joking... I'm in another time? I can't be in another time! What if nobody finds Tifa! She could DIE! Anything could happen to her... Gods..."

"Are you alright? Did you hit your head or something? Listen, if you want, come back with me to Garden. They can help you there..." She smiled weakly noticing the large sword at his side. Nodding towards it she said, "It seems like you'd fit right in..."

She noticed his puzzled face and laughed. He was entranced, her face lit up and she looked like an angel when she laughed. Grabbing his arm, she dragged him towards Garden. He groaned, not realising that she was as strong, and felt himself stumble with the unexpected force.

_Seems like she could be full of surprises... guess I'll just have to find them out..._

Cloud shook his head out of his thoughts, and Rinoa mistook it to mean that he didn't want to go.

"C'mon, it'll be fine! I promise..."

_Yea, because Squall isn't there... He left, again. But I'll be fine... he's not going to make me cry anymore! I don't care WHAT his reasons are! I'm not going to let him hurt me again!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sitting in the Balamb Garden cafeteria, Selphie Tilmitt had a stony look upon her face. Her arms were crossed, and her usually cheerful, smiley face was set into a frown.

Today had not been a good day.

Firstly, she had woken late. Her alarm had failed to go off, so she had missed the first half of her lesson. The one in which she had happened to be teaching. Not a good start to her new self defence classes.

Secondly, her hair would not be tamed into submission. The normally smooth hair was a tangled mess, and as she was late she had no time to do anymore than tie it up into a quick knot. It looked like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards. Twice.

Thirdly, her favourite sun yellow dress had a big dirty smudge on the back, so she had to wear a plain white vest and black jeans. She had no idea how it had gotten there, as she had just gotten it washed. She never felt herself in plain clothes.

Lastly, Irvine was supposed to be meeting her almost fifteen minutes before.

Selphie was not amused.

_It is SO typical of him to be late. Well, he can just wait. I'll give him a piece of MY mind. He's probably off drooling over some other girls. I hate when he does this._

_Selphie Tilmitt is enough for any man! _She declared to herself, trying to convince her own mind of the fact.

_And I'll be sure to let him know that._

She sighed, and looked towards the lunch queue, where she noticed Zell pleading with the workers to make him some more hot dogs. He had already eaten five that she was aware of. A small smile spread across her face. He was the only person she knew who could eat as many hotdogs. She herself thought they were disgusting.

_If only Zell knew what they were made of. Then he wouldn't be as keen to eat them!_

Her smile grew and she laughed slightly to herself.

"What're you grinnin' at doll?" she heard a deep voice drawl.

Irvine.

Irvine Kinneas was a self proclaimed ladies man. With his long, chestnut hair habitually tied back into a ponytail, brown leather chaps and trench coat, and a cowboy hat planted firmly on his head, he was a hard person to miss. Especially as he was around 6 foot tall.

Indeed, he had his usual smirk upon his handsome face. Selphie wanted to slap him. Nobody else realised they had been having problems recently. Selphie didn't like to advertise the fact. Their relationship was their own, and it was hard enough without everyone else offering little pieces of information.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a low voice. "You were supposed to be here quarter of an hour ago."

Irvine noticed that Selphie wasn't in a good mood and recoiled slightly. Selphie in a bad mood was directly proportional to Selphie in a good mood. The girl didn't do things by half. He could swear she was growling slightly.

"Listen Selph, I'm real sorry, but I got called to Cid's office. It's Squall. He's done a runner again. Apparently, I was the last one to see his sorry ass. And Rinoa, she just bolted. Y' know what she's like!"

"Oh no! Is she ok? Where is Squall? Is he ok? Oh, I should go and find Rinny. Remember last time? It's my fault. I spoke to him last night. I should have seen it. He actually smiled. I should have realised then something was up! What if he dies Irvine? Where did Rinny go? I need to find her!"

All thoughts of the problems she and Irvine were having left her mind. All she could think about was her friend. Rinoa was probably the closest person to a sister Selphie would ever have, and Selphie was extremely loyal. Nothing was more important to her than her friends.

"I need to find her Irvine. Don't you dare try and stop me!"

With this Selphie launched herself off of her chair about to go in pursuit of Rinoa. That is, until Irvine grabbed her.

At almost a foot taller than Selphie, the cowboy loomed over her as he held her. He could feel the tension in her coiled muscles.

"Ain't much we can do the now Selph. We'd be as well lettin' her come back in her own time. Meanwhile, me an' you should just sit here till you calm down."

"Lemme go Irvine! I told you not to stop me you big lump! I wanna help Rin-"

She was cut off by the sight of Rinoa dragging a bemused blonde boy into the cafeteria. She noticed the gleam in her friend's eyes, the almost predatory smirk on her lips.

Rinoa had a plan. Selphie just wasn't sure she would like it.

_Oh no… what is she thinking now? This can't be good. Rinoa's plans always end up with us in trouble… And why is she so happy after Squall has just disappeared?_

"Rinny!" She yelled, squirming out of Irvine's grasp. "There you are! I was worried. How are you? Where is Squall? Who is THIS guy?"

"Selph, I'm fine. I don't know where he is, and to be perfectly honest I couldn't care one little bit less if I tried. Now! This guy here, he is called Cloud. Has no idea where he is. From Midgar, if you can believe that."

Cloud put on a blank face of indifference when everyone stared at him, and raised a hand in acknowledgement.

"Hey there" Selphie exclaimed, noting to herself how much he acted like Squall. Trust Rinoa. "I'm Selphie, and this big lug here is Irvine."

Irvine looked the man up and down, not comfortable with his sudden appearance. Irvine didn't like change. He didn't want his "gang" split up. Not again. Not after he had found them all.

"Hey, was'n Midgar like, forever ago? Esthar now, right? So, this guy must be lying! He can't be from there. Else he'd be, old…"

Rinoa sighed, and plopped herself down.

"Irvine, I think it is a side effect of the time compression."

Everyone looked at Rinoa in shock. That wasn't what they had expected to hear. Not at all.

"Rinoa, I think you had better explain yourself. Now please." Irvine said in a quiet voice, sitting down next to her.

So Rinoa explained how they had met, omitting the crying part, just saying that she had been at the beach and had tripped and that Cloud had helped her.

"So, he explained that he had fallen through a black hole thing. Seems to be like what happened to us during the compression. It may have been at the same time as we killed her, but, it dropped him off here. You know, the all times as one thing. Only problem is, in this world, there are no portals left. So basically, he is stuck here. I explained this, and I also explained how I am the last sorceress left, and I can't open portals." Rinoa explained quickly, her eyes shining.

"So, are you just ok with staying here?" asked a bemused Selphie.

"What? Yea, I s'pose so. Not really much for me to go back to. I would be as well staying here."

"Great! Listen, I shall go and talk to Cid, see if I can get quarters for you. You just stay here."

With this, Rinoa jumped off her seat and sped away, leaving Cloud with an excited Selphie and a sour faced Irvine.

"So. Wanna join the Garden Festival Committee?"


End file.
